This document describes research and development by the Institute for Responsive Education's national project (known as the League of Schools Reaching Out) that seeks to show how school-family-community partnerships (SFCPs) can contribute significantly to school restructuring or reform aimed at increasing the academic and social success of all…

Action research affords preservice teachers both opportunity and perspective to investigate practical needs and critical issues in classroom practice. A one-semester Educational Inquiry course enabled students to pose important questions as part of a required 2-hour experimental research course in a field-based teacher education program. This…

This paper describes a course for education majors, Educational Inquiry, in which students completed action research investigations in their public school classrooms. The primary responsibility of designing, implementing, and sharing study results belonged to the college students rather than their cooperating teachers. Action research based on new…

A new paradigm for evaluating school restructuring that is based on the teacher-as-researcher concept, or action research, is presented in this paper. The first section compares the traditional and new evaluation paradigms. The old model is competitive, one-dimensional, reactive, and based on external change agents; it appeals to fear and views…

This study examined the beliefs of 21 experienced teachers who implemented individual action research projects as part of a graduate degree program in teacher leadership, focusing on the extent to which they believed that action research is a viable mechanism for change. Participants consisted of primary, middle, secondary, postsecondary, and…

This descriptive study identified teacher education programs that involve undergraduate preservice teachers in research projects. Information was gathered using interviews, documents, and telecommunications. Data were analyzed utilizing the following questions: (1) What are the goals of student teacher research projects? (2) What are the problems…

The 3-year Wisconsin Action Research Project was designed to bring together teams of practitioners from general and special education and provide them with training and support to conduct action research studies. This report describes the first pilot year of the project. First-year action studies attempted to address the following three outcomes:…

The opening section of this paper describes the author's first experience with collegial attempts at curriculum reform through practical inquiry, illustrating a process in which ideas are tested and developed in action. It is pointed out that this form of teacher-based practical inquiry is a characteristic feature of a certain kind of curriculum…

Characteristics and contributions of collaborative research studies to educational practice are explored in this paper. Definitions of collaborative research are presented which note its multiple roles and similarity to action research. Reasons for conducting collaborative research are given, centering around increased use of research outcomes,…

This paper discusses educational policies of teacher education in South Africa. The predominant theory of the Afrikaner ruling elite, Christian National Education, and its teaching style, Fundamental Pedagogics, structures schools on an authoritarian, paternalistic framework that perpetuates apartheid. Because teacher education was controlled…

The Tasmania Department of Education and the Arts commissioned policy research in February 1992 to identify forms of accountability preferred by stakeholders. This paper describes the policy-research project that sought to clarify the accountability processes and the criteria for collecting data and improving the quality of learning, teaching, and…

Project PREPARE (Professional Renewal and Educational Preparation through Action Research Experiences) is a multi-year, collaborative effort between public schools, a regional intermediate school district, and a university. Its purpose is to develop a collaborative site of inquiry and practice where there is an emphasis on professional…

This paper reports research from four studies of how teachers come to learn professional knowledge based on theoretical frameworks of the developmental theories of Piaget (cognitive development), Kohlberg (moral development), Loevinger (ego development), and Hunt (conceptual development). Studies proceed on the assumption that a perspective of…

Seven objectives were identified for the development of the Franklin County/Ohio State University Induction Project: (1) analyze existing research on beginning teachers and induction programs; (2) synthesize existing analyses of follow-up studies conducted in schools, colleges, and departments of education over the past decade; (3) synthesize…

This paper reports on the experiences and findings of five New York City public school teachers who, in the course of research for their master's degrees in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) designed and implemented individual action research projects investigating issues and concerns emanating from their classroom experiences. It is…